The labor of a man would scarcely excavate and place in position more than 120 tons of earth in a year; it would require, therefore, the united exertions of 10,000 men for twelve years, or 20,000 men for six years, to complete the structure.

On this artificial eminence were raised in ancient times the palaces and temples of the Assyrian monarchs, which are now imbedded in the debris of their own ruins.
[Illustration: PLATE 37] The mound of Nebbi-Ymus is at its base nearly triangular: [PLATE XXXVII., Fig.

1.] It covers an area of about forty acres.

It is loftier, and its sides are more precipitous, than Koyunjik, especially on the west, where it abutted upon the wall of the city.

The surface is mostly flat, but is divided about the middle by a deep ravine, running nearly from north to south, and separating the mound into an eastern and a western portion.